#73 - Bring Mike Breakfast in Bed (+ some rambling)

I kind of crossed #73 off my list of 101 Goals this morning. I tried, really I did. But the muffins seemed to take forever in the oven and by the time I brought the tray upstairs, Mike was out of bed and completely dressed. But the thought was there, right? I'll try again, for sure. Maybe on Father's Day.

Have I mentioned how much I love Sundays? We recently designated Sunday as "Family Day" and it is a TREAT to block out the rest of the world for 12-14 hours. I highly recommend it - it's my favorite day and completely recharges me for the week ahead.

For the summer, we're breaking the rules of Family Day by volunteering with the Kindergartners at church to give the regular volunteers a few months off, but even that was a great experience this morning. It was our first week teaching and we were in Ryan's class. For the first time, we got to experience the amazing children's program at our church. These kids are learning so much already and their scripture memorization is truly awesome. We left so pumped up - it set the tone for our whole day.

We came home, had lunch and swam, then the kids took a nap while I got my pedicure from Mother's Day and ran some errands. (Thanks, Mom! Yes - my mom got ME a pedicure for Mother's Day. I just realized how backward that seems...) Wanna see something bizarre? Here are my funky feet:

My friends used to call me "finger toes" in college, but I've analyzed the situation and I don't think my toes are necessarily the issue...it's my midget pinkie toe. See how it just drops off after my 4th toe? Feet are so weird. Especially mine.

Here's one more thing: the 2nd toe on my right foot is longer than my big toe, but the 2nd toe on my left foot is the same length as the toes on either side. And to add insult to injury, I swear that toenail grows faster than all the others.

I didn't take a picture of my feet to share with all of you, really I didn't. It's my picture of the day for Project 365. One of my 2-3 yearly pedicures. I love 'em.

I just realized that I discussed my toes in the same post where I proudly announced that I brought Mike breakfast in bed. Ew...sorry about that...sometimes I just have no filter!

More pictures from our weekend:

We had my mom and grandma over for my mom's birthday Friday night. How sweet is this picture?

And Kaylin helped me make the Rise and Shine Muffins from my meal plan last week. I gotta report, they were a little dry. I even did the "water in a pan in the oven" tip. And the orange zest was a bit much. The recipe didn't call for butter or oil, so they taste much better warmed with a pat of butter, but I have to say that I likely won't make them often. They were a lot of work and no one was all that impressed around here. But how adorable is my little helper?

See the lovely blue-taped plastic over my windows in the background? I'm so ready for my blinds to be back up and my house back in order. You can also see the stack of pictures I had to remove from the walls that are leaning against the fireplace. My house is just a sight right now.

I can't believe tomorrow is JUNE. We find out the gender of the baby in the morning. I hope we don't have to deal with a crossed legs situation...I'm dying to know what we're having! I'll make the big announcement when I get the news. Can't wait!

Meal Plan - 6/1/09

Breakfast
Oatmeal
Eggs and muffins...
Best Banana Bread/Muffins EVER
Whole Wheat Blueberry Muffins

Lunch
Sandwiches, carrots and watermelon/fruit salad
Salads for me

Dinner
Monday - Tator Tot Casserole with salad
Tuesday - Healthy Macaroni and Cheese
Wednesday - Leftovers
Thursday - Bunco at my house! Lagoon Chicken Salad with Chocolate Oat Bars
Friday - Pot Roast in the crock pot with carrots and mashed potatoes
Saturday - Party at Queen April's palace!
Sunday - Chicken Parmesan with pasta and salad

Tator Tot Casserole

Get ready to be shocked...this is no longer the type of recipe made in our house. It's one of Mike's favorites, but I only make it 1-2 times per year because of the canned, processed ingredients. But man, is it GOOD. And I'm making it this week, so here you go...

TATOR TOT CASSEROLE

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey

1 onion, chopped

2 cans french style green beans

1 can of cream of mushroom soup

1/3 cup milk

8 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 package frozen tator tots

Cook onions 3-4 minutes over medium heat until they begin to look clear. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink.

Combine beef mixture with green beans, mushroom soup and milk. Transfer to a casserole dish.

Top with cheese, then frozen tator tots. Bake at 425 degrees 30-40 minutes or until tator tots are done. (the rest of the dish is cooked, it just needs to heat through, so the tator tots can be your "done" indicator)

A few Ryanisms

I forgot the funniest thing overheard in our house last week. I can't believe I didn't include this, but it has to be noted.

We were having dinner with my mom on Friday night and were discussing middle and last names.

My mom asked Ryan if he remembers her last name. She tried to give him a hint by saying, "My name is Cindyyyyyyy..."

And Ryan said, "...rella?"

Yes. Her name is Cindy Rella. When the clock strikes midnight, her carriage will turn back into a pumpkin.

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For some reason, Mike agreed to let Ryan climb the scaffolding in front of our house. With his toolbelt on. And take his plastic hammer to the stucco. While Mike mowed the lawn and didn't WATCH him on the ladders. (!!!!) Freaked. Me. Out. But, of course, I had to grab my camera.

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Ryan's still in Pull Ups at night and we're trying to help him get up to pee so he can wake up with dry pants. Well, last night when I got him up before I went to bed, as we left his room, I said, "Close your eyes, it's going to be bright" because I had the hall light on. Once in the bathroom, he stood in front of the toilet with his hands folded. After a few seconds, I said, "Um, honey, what are you doing?" He said, "I thought you said, 'Close your eyes, I'm going to pray,' so I'm waiting for you to pray."

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On our most recent Family Day Sunday, Ryan had been bugging us to go swimming while we were out to eat. We told him that we already went swimming and that maybe we could play a board game when we got home instead.

As I got into the van in the parking lot, I hit my knee REALLY hard and was obviously in a lot of pain. (What is it with pregnancy and clumsiness???)

Out of no where, Ryan stopped asking to go swimming and said, "I know! When we get home, we should play Candyland!"

I said, "That's a great idea, buddy. Thanks for giving up on the swimming idea."

He replied, "Yeah, well I thought that would make you happy. If you're happy, maybe your knee will feel better." Ah, the logic...I love this kid.

{Day 6} Part 2 - Linen Closet

In the process of labeling my baskets, I was able to declutter our enormous linen closet and complete Day 6 of the Spring Cleaning Party from a couple weeks ago. This linen closet is HUGE and has gone through phases of organization, but has truly become the dumping ground for all of the junk that I don't know what to do with. It's a holding area, if you will.

I had a shelf for candles, one for empty frames (either gifts I've received or frames that haven't yet made it up in our "new" house), one for smaller gift items I buy throughout the year, then everything else was a hodgepodge of miscellaneous electronics, baskets, china/chrystal, old home movies, stuff I need to sell on Craigs List, etc.

This area has become the thorn in my side. I found some clearance fabric trash bins at Target last year ($20 marked down to $3!) and bought 5 of them with the intention of organizing this closet and dressing it up a bit. And today, those bins are full and even labeled. No more peeking in every one to see what's inside!

Before picture, the left side of the closet

After, left side

Before picture, the right side of the closet

After, right side

Look at those empty shelves!!! Whatever will I put there? And here are my pretty, repurposed trash bins. Don't they look nice?

As burned out as I was after the 2 weeks I decluttered, this felt REALLY good. But now I'm exhausted. Again. I still need to do our master bedroom closets, which is another item on my 101 Goals. And for good reason...they need a major overhaul. Ugh, I dread. Maybe next week. Or the next. Or sometime in July...

#29 - Label the baskets on my bookshelves and in the linen closet

When I organized my book shelves last year, I had every intention of labeling the baskets of books. Since then, I've peeked in each basket every time I've needed to reference a book or add to the collection. Annoying!

So here are my baskets on the bookshelves, nice and labeled...



And the "baskets" in the linen closet. (they're really repurposed trash bins I found on clearance) They make me happy just looking at them.


#29 on my list of 101 Goals should NOT have taken me 16 months to complete, but it's finally done!

Use Soft Words

I seem to have a fascination with large families. It recently struck me that I am truly intrigued with how the household runs, how the parents interact and stay sane, how the kids interact, if the house is completely chaotic...I'm just really interested in the dynamics of it all. Because if "they" can do it with 6...8...12 kids, I can surely manage my measly two.

Somehow, I ran across the Duggars' website today. You know them, right? The family with 18 kids - they have a show on TLC. I first saw a special on them when I was pregnant with Ryan called, "14 Kids and Pregnant Again." I remember being intrigued with the details of how she ran her family back then, wondering how I would incorporate ONE child into our world.

The few new shows I've watched about them really amaze me. Everyone seems so...calm. And kind. And genuinely content. I saw a link on their site to "The Duggar House Guidelines" and this is what I found:

- Always use soft words, even when you don’t feel well.
- Always display kind actions and joyful attitudes, even if you have been mistreated. Have the right response by quickly forgiving others in your heart even before they ask.
- Always be enthusiastic and look for opportunities to praise others' character.
- Always deflect praise and be grateful to God and others for the ways they have benefited your life.
- Always use manners and be respectful of others and their belongings.
- Always do what is right, even when others may not, or when no one is looking.
- Thank God for how He made you, for what He has given you and everything He allows you to go through. (Romans 8:28)
- Don’t mock or put others down. Develop compassion and pray for others.
- Never argue, complain, or blame. Quickly admit when you have done wrong and ask for forgiveness (even if you were only 10% at fault). Don't wait till you’re caught. Be sure your sins will find you out. He who covers his sin will not prosper, but he that confesses and forsakes it shall find mercy.
- Have a tough accountability/prayer partner to daily share your heart with and to keep you in line (your parents, spouse). The power of sin is in secrecy.
- Be attentive and look for ways to serve others with sincere motives and no thought of self-gain.
- Think pure thoughts (Philippians 4:8, Romans 13:14).
- Always give a good report of others. Don't gossip! Never tale-bear unless physical harm will come to someone. (Use Matthew 18.)
- Never raise a hand to hit.
- Never raise a foot to kick.
- Never raise an object to throw.
- Never raise a voice to yell.
- Never raise an eye to scowl.
- Use one toy/activity at a time. Share!
- Do your best to keep your surroundings neat, clean and organized.
- Never let the sun go down on your wrath. (Don’t go to bed angry or guilty)
- Amendment J.O.Y. - Put Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last.

The first line struck me more than anything. "Always use soft words..." And from what I've seen, they DO. It's probably the largest contributor to their house appearing to be so gentle and calm. (well, all things considered...there are a ton of louder little boys running around)

I'd love to institute this (and verbalize several of the others) in our home, but I think the soft words has to start with me. I think I've become much less reactive in the last few months, but I wish I had enough self control to not raise my voice. Ever. As unattainable as it seems, that actually is my goal.

#84 on my list of 101 Goals is to go a whole week without raising my voice to my kids. I was keeping track of my good days, but after 3 or 4 in a row, I'd lose my temper and have to start over. I stopped tracking much of anything while I had morning sickness, but what I've noticed recently is that when I DO lose my cool, I think to myself, "Wow - it's been a while since I raised my voice. I wonder if it's been a week?" And I notice that I generally raise my voice when one child has hurt the other and Mama Bear gets protective. So I AM getting better, considering I used to have hour by hour goals, not day by day!

I'm thinking this "use soft words" idea might work. It seems pretty universal and can replace my mantra of, "inside voices, please" which I say all. day. long. Plus, Kaylin's getting back into the bad habit of screaming (when she's mad, frustrated, feels mistreated) instead of using her words, so I've been actively trying to nip that in the bud.

There's always so much to work on. I feel this sense of urgency to correct certain behaviors before they become too "normal" for my kids. I let things go, don't get me wrong, but when I set my mind on retraining an issue, I give it my all.

I can blame the pregnancy all I want, but I'm starting to understand why I'm so tired all the time. I think my brain must hurt and wants a rest. Is it just me or does this parenting job seem constant???

Getting Easier

I'm the type of person that is always busy. I like feeling productive, so that often results in a full schedule. But lately, it feels like my life is getting pretty quiet. At first, it was so uncomfortable that I could only attribute it to feeling bored (which I still am, kind of) but I've got it figured out. Sure, I'm no longer a work at home mom. Sure, I'm no longer running the moms group at our church. Removing those two things freed up about 10-20 hours of my time each week. And I've since slowed my pace and have learned to fill my time with other things.

But something new occurred to me today: my kids are getting easier. Ryan is independent and maturing, Kaylin is less needy every day, they are discovering a lifelong playmate in each other and have both become very helpful around the house. I'd say now is the perfect time to throw another kid in the mix, wouldn't you?

I can see why people say that having multiple children gets easier as they get older. Even Ryan, weeks away from his 5th birthday, is sliding into a very responsible role in the house. And he's loving it, to boot. A couple of weeks ago, Mike took the time after dinner to show the kids how to properly load the dishwasher. The counters and floors (not to mention everyone's clothes) were soaked, but they were thrilled to help Daddy and were learning a great skill in the meantime.

I took Mike's lead and soon transitioned Ryan's chore of unloading the silverware from the clean dishwasher to unloading the dishes. And Kaylin is now (even though she seems so young!) unloading the silverware with pride. It takes her almost as long as it takes Ryan to unload all of the dishes, which works out perfectly. And they do it with a happy heart, which is key for me. I keep the kid dishes in a low cabinet, so Ryan puts all of their stuff away, plus Tupperware and other low items. Everything else gets stacked onto a dish towel that I put on the counter for him. We've developed quite a little system.

At dinner, Kaylin usually puts the forks on the table, Ryan gets himself and his sister a drink, they both wash and dry their own hands in the bathroom and sit themselves down. Not having to do those extra things while I'm pulling all the food off the stove and putting dishes on the table is such a blessing.

While I'm folding laundry, the kids are now in the habit of grabbing a small stack of their clothes and putting them in the correct drawers in their rooms. (sometimes Kaylin's shirts aren't folded by the time she gets upstairs, but who cares...I don't need my kids to look clean-pressed every day)

Then there's bedtime. "Please go upstairs, put your jammies on and brush your teeth" results in two story-ready kids within 15 minutes. They dawdle, sure, but everyone can dress and undress themselves, Ryan is in charge of toothpaste, they put their dirty clothes in the hamper...I'm telling you, it's a beautiful thing.

I guess I'm starting to see the light at the end of the toddler tunnel. I know, I know...I can hear some of you saying, "You just wait..." (my pet peeve phrase!) I realize that my world will be rocked this fall when I'm shuttling kids to and from school, helping Ryan with homework and welcoming a new baby into my newly sleep-deprived world. But for now...life feels a little easier than it did even a few months ago. And I'm basking in the simplicity of it all!

To Homeschool...or Not?

Disclaimer: I understand that there are some strong opinions out there on the subjects of homeschooling, public schools, private schools, Christian schools, charter schools...I'm not here to challenge your opinion on any of these topics. I just want to share my thoughts, since it seems that I'm asked this question often, now that Ryan is Kindergarten-aged.

For the past few years, I have seriously considered homeschooling my kids. I know some amazing young adults who were homeschooled. They are mature beyond their years, have an incredible sense of confidence, have wonderful relationships with everyone around them (especially their families) and are among some of the kindest, most generous people I know. I have never met the "weird" kid that some people picture when they hear that a child has been homeschooled. Not once. Their social skills are better than many other kids their age, they don't feel the pull of peer pressure and they don't succumb to cliques. Despite the odd looks I get from some people, I truly GET the long term benefits of homeschooling children.

I just didn't know if I could do it. All of my homeschool mom friends cheered me along, sharing tips, tricks and strategies for molding the young minds in my household.

Then Ryan turned 2. He was a ball of energy who rarely conformed. My solution was a weekly "Mom's Day Out" program at a nearby church. They had a loose schedule that included story time, free time and outdoor play, but most importantly...he learned social habits such as taking turns, lining up behind other kids and following instructions.

The next year, my closest homeschool mom friend recommended a pre-school down the street from my house. Ryan has loved attending there two days a week for the past two years and Kaylin is enrolled for next year. They focus on making learning fun and allowing kids to be messy kids. When volunteering, I began to see how well Ryan does in a large group setting. I began to doubt whether he would benefit as well if I chose to teach him at home.

And so my struggle began. Because up until that point, I was sold on the idea of homeschooling. Not because I am an overprotective mom, not because I think I am better equipped to teach my son than an educated and trained professional, but because Arizona ranks 49th in the country for our schools. Forty. Ninth. What also scared me was watching several friends (who were teachers) retire to motherhood and swear they would never send their kids through the Arizona public school system...because they had experienced the behind-the-scenes. The limits teachers have. The emphasis from the uppity-ups to improve standardized scores to get Arizona OUT of 49th place. Just to be clear, that's out of 50. Again, forty-ninth.

It was around this time that I met some moms who homeschool some of, but not all of, their kids. Or pulled child #2 out of school for a few years when things started going downhill, then put them back in. I realized that the decision to homeschool isn't all or nothing. I can be flexible. And just because homeschooling might not be right for Ryan (or me) right now, that doesn't rule out the possibility for making that choice for him later. Or for Kaylin. Or baby #3 down the road. I don't HAVE to be the mom who has all of her kids seated around the table working on their individual grade's work. I could be, but my perception of what a homeschooling family looks like was suddenly broadened.

SO - to answer this question universally, Ryan is going to Kindergarten in the fall at a public (*cringe*) school in one of the better districts in the state. For now, I intend to keep him there for at least a few years, unless I'm swayed otherwise. Homeschooling is a very open door in my mind, but today, this year, the timing doesn't seem right just yet.

I should mention that I hope my Arizona readers aren't put off by this post. I've heard the offended say, "I went through the Arizona school system and turned out just fine." I'm not saying that my kids will be ruined if they spend the next 13 years in a public school. But I have news for you...it's gotten worse since you graduated. All schools have, but specifically here. And you have to realize that I came from Kansas (which isn't as protected as most of you think...) and one of the top school districts in the country. I'm very spoiled and want my kids to be, too.

Okay, here we go. I actually do want to hear your opinions. Not if they insult me or my views, but I'm curious about your thoughts on this issue. Anyone...?

Little of This...Little of That...

Got a lot in my head...have to get it out. Sorry for the randomness of this post!

I feel like my productivity of catching up from the Spring Cleaning challenge has come to a screeching halt. Not to mention that my once-clean, once-tidy, decluttered house is now a disaster. Due to all of the work being done on the exterior, we had to take all of our pictures off the walls and they're currently either stacked against the fireplace or piled on nearby surfaces. The residual dust that's creeping in through the unsealed windows is worse every day and I feel so discombobulated that basic tasks (like laundry and dishes) are sitting half-finished for way too long, just adding to the chaos. I think it's a "what's the point?" mentality. The house is a wreck, why bother making the kids pick up their toys? Why bother putting away the laundry? Why bother wiping off the counter? It is currently so much worse than it needs to be. I have some major clean-sweeping to do before I lose my mind. How did I let it get so bad in just a few days?

New subject, because thinking about my dirty house is stressing me out: Date Days. Mike and I have recently had a few date DAYS tacked on to our date nights. My mom has taken the kids overnight the last couple times she's babysat and instead of picking the kids up before lunch, she has kept them until after their naps, giving us an extra 3+ hours to ourselves. I have to say that enjoying the majority of the day with Mike without a "real" reason has been such a treat. We've gotten so many errands run, including shopping around for things for the house that seemed to get put off because of the kids' short attention spans.

Saturday, I have no idea what got into my husband, but he was a spending fool. Part of the reason was the huge dumpster outside our house. He wanted to take advantage of it and throw away our broken patio umbrellas and ripped, secondhand patio chairs. They were on their last leg last summer, but now that we're using the pool a lot, it's becoming obvious that they need to be tossed and replaced. Since we had time to shop around, we got some amazing deals. Mike got to experience a little of the "savers high" that I get when I save money on groceries. He was so giddy, he just kept spending: we went out to lunch, found a huge clearance sale and bought some Christmas gifts, he's even ready to splurge on a patio covering that I've wanted for the last 3 years. Of course, he can't put it up until the house is done, so that's a little premature, but he was itching to make the purchase.

Next random topic: it seems that overnight, Kaylin has started crying every time she wears anything but her flip flops. How fast do feet grow, anyway? I just bought her tennis shoes and now they're too small! These kids are going to make me broke. Time to pack up the size 7s and pull out the size 8 hand me downs until I can make it to the store...

We were watching Saturday Night Live last night (I think it was last week's show) and I have to say that as sick and wrong as they are, I love their Celebrity Jeopardy skits. They have categories like: Words Ending in "amburger," Black Comedians Named "Whoopi," How Many Fingers Am I Holding Up and Colors That Are Red. Last night, Tom Hanks made a cameo and was hilarious. The writers make the celebrities look like idiots, especially Sean Connery. I was going to upload the video, but some of the jokes are pretty offensive, so if you don't care about that stuff, you can watch it here.

All of that wasn't even why I brought up the show. During the Weekend Update segment, Seth Meyers mentioned that Kate from Jon & Kate Plus 8 reports that she and Jon are NOT splitting up (who else is sick of that drama on every newsstand??) but Seth's addition to the story was that TLC has announced two new shows in the fall lineup: Jon Plus 4 and Kate Plus 4. I cracked up! It was so funny. Really, it was. Okay, maybe you had to be there...

It was funny at the time, anyway. I just watched the newest Jon & Kate show and it was SO sad to see what they're going through. The paparazzi was stalking their kids' 5th birthday party, following them through the parking lot to pick out party decorations, it really disgusts me. The media always has, though. And during their interviews on the show, neither is denying that they may split up, so who knows. It's just so sad to see how quickly lives can change, even in people who love each other. So sad.

I never watch the Jon & Kate reruns (I think I've seen every show) but I happened to catch a few minutes of a "movie night" themed rerun one boring afternoon. Kate gives each child their own little cup of popcorn and puts surprises on the top for them to find as they're eating. (surprises meaning candy) I don't know why that never struck me the first time I saw the show - maybe because we just started doing movie nights around Thanksgiving. Anyway, I added a few M&Ms and some gummy worms (that were unopened from Ryan's Christmas stocking) onto the kids' popcorn buckets for movie night tonight and they were SO excited and appreciative. I know most of you think I'm a total food Nazi, so laugh at me if you must. I throw away so much candy in our house, it's crazy. I just never give it to them and they rarely ask for it. When I cleaned out my pantry a couple weeks ago, not only did I toss a bunch of Easter candy, I even found lingering Halloween candy. In May. I did get creative and chop up some chocolate bunnies last week when I ran out of chocolate chips. How resourceful am I???

Next random topic: Ryan thinks the word, "otherwise" is a bad word. I can see why he's confused and have tried to correct him, but he doesn't get it. The problem is that he'll say something like, "Kaylin, give me that toy back otherwise I won't play with you anymore." I quickly wanted to nip the threats in the bud, so I stopped him saying, "Ryan, don't say, 'otherwise.'" As a result, he'd respond with, "Kaylin, give me back the toy. I had it first." Appropriate, right? Well, he's now catching Mike and I saying, "otherwise" and tries to get us to stop. Tonight, Mike said something like, "I need to cook the burgers soon, otherwise we'll be eating really late." Ryan piped in with, "Daddy - don't say, 'otherwise.'" I explained (again) the idea of using otherwise before a threat versus just an explanation and I doubt he got it. But Mike is already sick of Ryan "catching" him in the act of saying the forbidden "otherwise" word.

Last thing: a close friend in Michigan just had her 4th baby this weekend and her son is the same age as Ryan...they'll be 5 next month. Talk about a challenge, right? Or so I thought. Well, they do natural births, so she was very surprised to learn that their newest baby girl has down syndrome. I'm so heartbroken over the emotions she must be going through right now. If you feel led, please pray for a quick peace for her and her family. They will be amazing parents of a special needs child, that's not the issue...it's just the shock of the news that needs to settle in and become their new reality, you know?

And being pregnant isn't helping matters for me. I was just mentioning to Mike yesterday that it feels like a while since I've felt the baby move, but it could be that I'm not paying attention. (I'm only 17 weeks, after all - the baby flutters that I feel are often confused with gas at this point!) Let's just say that I'm getting anxious to hear a little heartbeat next Monday, and to find out what we're having.

Whew! Now I think I'll be able to sleep tonight. :) I haven't had a good brain dump in a while. Felt good. Thanks for those of you who hung with me and read all of my nonsense!!!

Meal Plan - 5/25/09

Breakfast
Oatmeal
Eggs and Toast
Rise and Shine Muffins

Lunch
Turkey Sandwiches (I may have to make a Panini or two for me. I add pesto and throw on some sun-dried tomatoes and provolone...YUM.)
Pine Nut Orzo Salad
Leftovers

Dinner
Monday - Memorial Day BBQ with neighbors - Burgers, Pesto Pasta Salad, corn on the cob, fruit and brownies.
Tuesday - Frugal Bean Stew
Wednesday - Garlic Chicken Farfalle
Thursday - Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Fingers
Friday - Chicken Fried Rice
Saturday - Sloppy Joes with salad
Sunday - Baked Egg and Cheese Crepes

Dessert to try - Chocolate Beet Cake (I'm dying to see how it tastes!)

Overheard in our house this week...

Ryan: (coming out of his room after bedtime - it was a sleepover night) "Mommy, Kaylin's talking."
Me: "Are you tattling or is this a safety issue?"

Ryan: "Well, I don't want to get in trouble and she won't stop talking."

Me: "Do you realize that if I go into your room, the two of you will be separated and Kaylin will get in trouble for talking?"

Ryan: (thinking) "Um, I don't want her to get in trouble. I need to protect her because I'm her big brother."
Me: "That's right. How about you lay very still in bed and not shush her when she talks. Try ignoring her and she'll think you're asleep. That way no one gets in trouble."

Ryan: "That's a GREAT idea!" (I know...I'm brilliant like that...)
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Me: (to Ryan, who did something praise-worthy) "Good job, sweetie."
Kaylin: "HEEEEEEY! He's not sweetie...I'M sweetie. He's buddy."
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Ryan (singing)

Kaylin (repeats Ryan)

Ryan: "Stop copying me."

Kaylin: "Okay."
Ryan (clears throat)

Kaylin (clears throat)
Ryan: "Kay-LIN. Stop copying me!"

Kaylin: "Okay."

(silence)

Kaylin: "It's cloudy outside."

Ryan: "It's cloudy outside."

Kaylin: "RY-YAN! Don't copy me!"

I didn't have siblings, so this kind of torture makes no sense to me. Ryan JUST had an issue with Kaylin copying him, yet he turned around and mimicked her 2 seconds later?!!? What is that about?

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Ryan: "Mommy? Could you please get this hair off my forehead?"

Me: (wiping forehead of stray hair...only to notice that 20 other hairs fall from his head) "Um, Ryan? Did you cut your hair?"

Ryan: "Well, yeah. I had a hair in my face and I took your little orange scissors (my $12 scrapbooking scissors that are small, like his safety scissors) and just cut it out of my way."
Me: "Do not ever...EVER cut your hair again. There is a gap in the front now and it isn't even with the rest of your hair. Daddy will have to fix it when he gets home."
Ryan: "But the hair was in my way..."
Me: "Next time, you tell me and I'LL fix it for you. No more cutting your hair. Understood?"
Ryan: "Yeah."

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Kaylin: "Mommy, you are so beautiful. But...do you love Jesus THIS much?" (stretching her arms out)

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Ryan: (crying) "OWWWWW! I hit my finger on the bottom of the pool!"

Me: (checking it out) "Can you bend it? It doesn't look like it's broken..."

Ryan: (whining and crying) "It really hurts!!!"

Kaylin: "Hmmm...sounds like someone is tired to me..."

(apparently, she doesn't get the difference between whining because they're overtired and whining due to pain)

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Kaylin: (after spending the night at my mom's house) "I missed you, Mommy. And I missed the baby, too. Can I give the baby hugs and kisses?" (lifted up my shirt and kissed my belly button, then hugged it) "I think the baby is happy now."

Me: "You are going to be a good big sister, you know that, Kaylin?"
Kaylin: "Of course I do!"

1/2 off Huggies diapers

I get told a lot, by non-couponers, that they don't clip coupons because the only available coupons are for processed foods. I disagree 100%. I just saved $35 just in coupons alone, not counting sales, and only bought 2 products that fall into the "processed" category. But I'll get back to that.

The same people also argue that they save just as much money at Costco, which I think is a misperception. I have a handful of things I always buy at Costco, but stopped buying many items there because I realized I save much more money shopping sales and using coupons.

Back to the reason for my post: Fry's (and all Kroger affliliated grocery stores) has a promotion right now on Huggies. When you buy $15 in Huggies products, you automatically get $3 off your bill. The smaller packages of Huggies are already marked down to $8.99, making this a good deal even if you don't have any coupons.

But if you're the good couponers that I hope you are, you should have several Huggies coupons available. There were (not sure if they're still there) $3 coupons on the link on my sidebar and you can print off 2 of those, plus there have been lots of $1.50 off coupons in the newspaper lately.

So after using my $3 off coupons on 6 packages of newborn and size 1 diapers (may as well stock up now, right?), each package of diapers (that were originally priced $11.99) were $4.50 each!

*I know I'm going to get questions about how I printed off 6 $3 coupons and honestly, I don't remember. Sometimes the coupon sites reset themselves and allow you to print more than two, and I never pass up a chance to print off diaper coupons!*

This was my big grocery purchase today:

I spent $64 and saved $93, which is almost 60%.

The BBQ sauce and hand soaps were all free, the paper towels were $.30 after their quadruple coupon promotion, and the brownie mixes were $.50. What am I going to do with all those BBQ sauces, you might ask? Well, I don't know. We don't eat it that often, but it was free, so I'll probably give most of them away to friends who are struggling right now.

While looking at the receipt as I typed this, I just realized that I was overcharged for the apples and the ground turkey. By a lot. It's annoying that I have to go back to the store with my receipt, but if it will save me $7, it's absolutely worth it, and the only reason I bought each was because of the huge sign nearby.

#26 - One of 25 Random Acts of Kindness

I want to complete 25 Random Acts of Kindness in the 1001 days I gave myself for my 101 goals.

For some reason, this morning I had an overwhelming desire to bake cookies for the men working on our house. I just thought it would be nice, I guess.

A few guys came inside to wrap our windows as the cookies were coming out of the oven and I overheard one whisper, "I should go over and snag one of those peanut butter cookies...they smell so good!" I said, "Oh, these are for your crew. I was going to put them out on the front porch, but you guys can have first dibs, if you want." The look on this guy's face was priceless as he said, "Really?!?" They were thrilled. I'm glad I got that reaction before the one from a guy outside who said, "Oh, um...okay..." like I was nuts. I secretly hope everyone else ate all of the cookies before he got one.

So do you want to see what my beautiful house looks like? That thing on the left is a huge dumpster that spans the width of our front lawn to our neighbor's yard. Very attractive!

They pulled everything away from the patio and put it in the yard. (They extended the plastic on the patio a few feet into our lawn before they realize it was killing our grass. Mike's beautiful yard now has a huge, long strip of completely dead grass.)

They replaced our stuff with all of their junk supplies...

Ryan has been walking around all week wearing his tool belt, knocking on the windows and proudly displaying his costume to the workmen.

Kaylin has (somehow) been sleeping while hammers pound her walls and ridiculous amounts of noise fill her room. (you can see her crashed out in bed while men work LOUDLY outside her window)

I'm only 3 days into this month-long process and I'm already feeling unsettled. (*sigh*)

Eat This, Not That

I borrowed Eat This, Not That from a friend recently and found some of the information very surprising. And when I get caught off guard, you know I have to share it! (BTW, they also have a Eat This, Not That for Kids and a Supermarket Survival Guide, if your interest is peaked, too.)

Okay, I'm going to share some of the shockers that apply to mistakes I might make:

- Cinnabon Classic Cinnamon Rolls have 813 calories and 32 g. of fat. 150 more calories than a Whopper! The price scares me away from those things every time, but they smell up the entire mall...they call to me...

- If you substitute BBQ sauce for mayo on a Burker King Whopper, you save 17 grams of fat. I'll just go without either, thankyouverymuch!

- By choosing a burrito bowl without rice at Chipotle instead of a traditional burrito, you'll save 500 calories and 83 grams of carbs. Just from eliminating the tortilla and the rice! WHOA.

- A large Blizzard has 6 grams of trans fat.

- Krispy Kreme donuts, however, have 0 trans fats. But the Glazed Blueberry Cake Doughnut has 330 calories, 17 g. fat and 28 g. sugar while the Whole Wheat Glazed Donut has 180 calories, 11 g. fat and only 10 g. sugar. (Ha! I said, "only," but in comparison - !)

- Ruby Tuesdays' Turkey Burger with fries has 1171 calories and 58 g. of fat. (FYI: ground turkey isn't always healthier...make sure it's lean! I learned that one the hard way.)

- The whipped cream on your drink at Starbucks adds 70 calories and 7 grams of fat.

- Wendys' Chicken BLT salad has as much fat as 15 chicken nuggets, mostly due to the honey mustard dressing. If you get the low-fat version, you'll cut 20 grams of fat.

Do you know what I got from reading all of this? I need to continue eating at home. We rarely eat out for financial reasons, but who knows what I'd weigh if that weren't an issue! Restaurants add so much unnecessary junk to their food to make it extra irresistible. When we cook at home, we know exactly what's in our meals.

Eat. At. Home. That's my lecture for the day.

Blog Name Ideas - HELP!

Friends, readers, bloggers, fellow mamas...I need your advice. This may seem a bit premature, but I'm in a quandary. (look at me using fancy words!)
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I love my blog name. LOVE it. I even refused to change it when I temporarily colored my hair brown. But I have a bun in the oven that's going to mess up my great title!
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My kids have a history of being born bald. And usually stay so for quite some time, so I won't know if #3 will be blonde (likely) or another random redhead for at least a year, maybe longer. But once this little peanut enters the world, I'm gonna need a new blog name, don't you think?
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I've toyed with "Three Blondes and a Redhead + 1" or "Three Blondes and a Redhead and a baldy" *blech* - see why I need help???
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So I'm asking for thoughts. Ideas. Suggestions. Maybe I'll even send you a prize if I pick your blog title. Who knows what I have up my sleeve...
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Watch this baby come out with a head full of black hair. That would certainly throw these two blonde parents for a loop!

Can I get a do-over?

I need to vent. Can I do that for a minute? Even if no one wants to hear my negativity, I have to get this out so I can move on with my life.

Yesterday was a tough one for me. Mike and I were at odds and hadn't had time to really talk in several days. Before we went to bed, we aired our issues and hugged it out, so all was well with the world again.

But at dinner last night, I'd had too much iced tea and I was WIDE awake after our late night pow-wow.

I haven't stayed up that late in ages. I guess I have stayed up past my bedtime a handful of times, when we've gotten together with friends, but never on my own, at home. I finally fell asleep around 1:00 after getting in and out of bed to do things around the house because I was SO awake and antsy.

Oh wait, I had planned on venting about TODAY. But those of you still reading need some background.

I woke up at 6:00 and couldn't fall back to sleep. This was not a good thing, considering I'm an 8-9 hour-a-night sleeper. 5 hours does not make for a nice or happy mama. But I did my best to put on a smile and not take my caffeine accident out on my kids.

First thing in the morning, some guys came to build the scaffolding that is required to rip apart my house over the next month. (14 of our 17 windows leak, so they'll be removing stucco, replacing windows, repairing dry wall and interior paint and basically tearing apart my home and my life until just days before Ryan's 5th birthday party. They promised to be done with all but the exterior paint on 6/17 and the party will be 6/20. I'm not usually one to bite my nails, but...)

We went off to a play date for a couple of hours and came home to a hot house. Our temperature is always set between 79-81 degrees, but the thermostat said 83 and the A/C wouldn't stop running. Then it was 84. Soon it was 85 and completely unbearable. I felt the air coming out of the vents and it wasn't even cold. Lovely.

I called the head honcho in charge of my house, then the foreman, but I couldn't get a hold of anyone so I found the only English-speaking worker outside and asked him to figure out why my air wasn't working. Apparently they shut off the A/C for a minute earlier in the morning and forgot to turn it back on. Thanks, guys.

Right about that time, Kaylin peed on the kitchen floor. (?!?!?) At least it was on the tile, I suppose...

The house cooled down over the next hour (it was 105 outside, after all) and I put the kids down for a nap. Time for ME to catch some Z's, too!

But just as my head hit the pillow, I heard what sounded like a chain saw. Coming through my bedroom wall. It wasn't really coming through the wall, but it sounded just as close! Believe it or not, I was so tired, I actually fell asleep through all the racket. Until they started banging on the house with a hammer to remove the dry wall. That was my alarm clock.

It was so loud in the house that I couldn't even veg in front of the t.v. - I couldn't hear it! So once the kids woke up (Ryan never fell asleep and Kaylin was awake as soon as they moved around the house to chainsaw her outside walls) I threw everyone in the car and went to the gym.

My workout was lame because my stomach suddenly felt like I'd inhaled a gallon of water. It was an odd feeling and definitely not one that encouraged a workout. So I left.

By this time, I was spent. My patience was gone, my attitude was horrible and my stomach hurt. Thank goodness we had leftovers in the fridge for dinner or I'd have served cereal. Oh wait, we're out of cereal...so it was a really good thing we had leftovers!

The one bright spot in my day was that Mike brought me 18 roses when he came home. I haven't gotten flowers in quite a while, so that was a huge treat. Thanks, honey!

I guess I was also pretty thrilled when I figured out how to use Photoshop tonight, but now I'm feeling limited because there's SO much you can do and I only have a teeny bit of information. It's very restricting.

Did I mention that Kaylin peed right in front of the toilet as we were getting everyone ready for bed? What's that about? I begged Mike to take over from there because I had truly had it. I was done. And now it's time to sit and watch the American Idol finale before collapsing into bed and waking up to hike with my neighbor at zero-dark-thirty.

I'm so glad this day is almost over.

#49 - Learn to use Photoshop

IDIDIT! IDIDIT! IDIDIT!

I just successfully created my first file in Photoshop Elements 6.0. I am SERIOUSLY celebrating! I have wanted this program for years, finally got it for Christmas but didn't have enough room on our computer to upload it, got a new computer and uploaded it and the dumb program didn't come with an instruction manual! I pleaded for help from fellow Photoshop users and everyone suggested I take a class. (perfect - because I have just been dying to spend more money in this economy...)

But, just moments ago, I found this step-by-step guide to how to get smaller pictures combined into a 4x6 size. It's JUST what I needed to get started with this overwhelming program. (The picture below is actually 2 vertical pictures combined into one...I done good, huh? It almost looks like the kids are sitting directly next to each other.)

Just to make sure I actually knew what I was doing, I created this collage without the instructions...

It will be a long time before I truly "get" Photoshop, I'm sure, but hey - I created. On my own. I am officially crossing this item off of my 101 Goals in 1001 Days!

Tuesday's Time Saving {Password} Tips

I keep my passwords all in one place. My mom saw my list one day and suggested that I blog about it, and here we are. I didn't think my idea was very original, but it was new to her, so this might be helpful for some of you reading!

Sure, most of them are the same, but some need 4 characters, some require a minimum of 6. Other websites start force me to use both letters and numers in the password and it must be at least 8 characters long and not contain any part of my user name and no one in the state of Maryland can have the same password and...and...and...well, I've been known to forget my password at times.

Several years ago, I created a tab in my "Notes" folder in Microsoft Outlook and began listing my passwords there. Thank goodness they are alphabetical, because I've established quite a collection. I list by site name, then what email address I use (I'll often use my yahoo account for sites that are likely to send me unwanted newsletters, etc), then my user name and password.

Adding to this list takes 30 seconds when I create an account with a new site. It's easy to reference and I don't have to wait for them to email me my password to log in. (let alone check both email accounts for the reminder email)

I have to say that this system became ineffective when my main email went down and I didn't have access to my password to log in online. THIS is the password that's 8 characters, using alpha and numeric, can't contain any part of my user name or real name...and to make matters worse, it only let you "guess" the password 3 times before locking me out of their site for 4 hours. It took Mike and I two days to figure out the correct password. Hassle!!!

Attention Scrapbookers!

I came across this post today and am SO glad I was given this idea before Ryan starts Kindergarten in August. If you have school-aged kids or enjoy scrapbooking or BOTH, check out the picture at the bottom (click to enlarge) with the explanation above and below. (I'm not going to do a book for every kid in Ryan's future class...but I am going to commit to having him complete a page each month next year!)

I also have another simple idea that I started to document Ryan's school years. And ironically, I just completed the set up for Kaylin's school album last night.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's the deal: I bought an 8x8 scrapbook and created page templates for the 15 years until Ryan graduates high school. I made them simple and streamlined, and the color pallet was all the same. (blue, tan and chocolate brown for Ryan, pink, green, tan and yellow for Kaylin)

For his pre-school years, being that he's been so little, Ryan's schools have always had me fill out a questionnaire about him, his behaviors and his personality traits. I typed up the Q&A, printed it small enough to fit on the page and included it in the layout. On one side, I include his picture on the first day of school and the Q&A, on the other side is his school picture (or picture of him and his teacher if we don't buy a school picture) and the pic I take of him on the last day of school. Based on Becky's idea (in the link above), I'm now going to have him also write his name each year into the album.

On the little 2x3 vertical color block in the left corner, I plan to include the year, his grade, his teacher's name and the school he attended. But I haven't gotten that far, yet.

I don't anticipate Ryan's elementary school giving me a questionnaire to fill out about him, so I plan to come up with some questions for him (or me, depending) to answer to include in the upcoming years' pages. That said, you can absolutely invent your own Q&A to include in your child's book.

(To get your creativity flowing...) Questions the schools have asked include:

- What are some of your child's favorite activities?

- What kinds of activities does your family enjoy doing together?

- Describe your child's most pleasing qualities...

- What responsibilities does your child have at home?

- What is your child's attitude in situations where they are separated from their parents?

I got the idea for these "school albums" from Becky Higgins a few years ago. I saw that she'd made a similar book to record her husband's school years and thought it would be easier to do a 2-page layout each year as my kids go through school instead of being overwhelmed by the task when they're 18.

Any other ideas out there for recording your kids' school years or other highlights? I'd love to hear!